Sports Medicine

BACKGROUND: Physical fitness is an important marker of current and future health status, yet the association between physical fitness and indicators of mental health in youth has not been systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to systematically review and meta-analyze the association between physical fitness components (i.e. cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, speed-agility, flexibility and fitness composite) and mental health indicators (i...

BACKGROUND: Lower limb muscle strain injury is highly prevalent in running-based sports and is considered a risk factor for recurrent injury. It is possible that differences in muscle activity and activation in previously strain-injured limbs may contribute to the elevated risk of reinjury. OBJECTIVES: To systematically review available literature investigating whether muscle activity and/or activation is different in previously strain-injured muscles compared to contralateral uninjured muscles or uninjured controls...

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In the last few years, a plethora of studies have explored the effects of caffeine on resistance exercise, demonstrating that this field of research is growing fast. This review evaluates and summarizes the most recent findings. Given that toxic doses of caffeine are needed to increase skeletal muscle contractility, the binding of caffeine to adenosine receptors is likely the primary mechanism for caffeine's ergogenic effects on resistance exercise. There is convincing evidence that caffeine ingestion is ergogenic for (i) one-repetition maximum, isometric, and isokinetic strength; and (ii) muscular endurance, velocity, and power in different resistance exercises, loads, and set protocols...

Athletes are increasingly required to travel domestically and internationally, often resulting in travel fatigue and jet lag. Despite considerable agreement that travel fatigue and jet lag can be a real and impactful issue for athletes regarding performance and risk of illness and injury, evidence on optimal assessment and management is lacking. Therefore 26 researchers and/or clinicians with knowledge in travel fatigue, jet lag and sleep in the sports setting, formed an expert panel to formalise a review and consensus document...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

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The symptom similarities between training-overload (with or without an Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) diagnosis) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) are significant, with both initiating from a hypothalamic-pituitary origin, that can be influenced by low carbohydrate (CHO) and energy availability (EA). In this narrative review we wish to showcase that many of the negative outcomes of training-overload (with, or without an OTS diagnosis) may be primarily due to misdiagnosed under-fueling, or RED-S, via low EA and/or low CHO availability...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the well-established benefits of exercise, pregnant women are discouraged from physical activity in hot/humid conditions to avoid hyperthermia (core temperature (Tcore ) ≥ 39.0 °C). Recent epidemiological evidence also demonstrates greater risk of negative birth outcomes following heat exposure during pregnancy, possibly due to thermoregulatory impairments. We aimed to determine (1) the risk of pregnant women exceeding a Tcore of 39.0 °C during moderate-intensity exercise in the heat; and (2) if any thermoregulatory impairments are evident in pregnant (P) versus non-pregnant (NP) women...

Return to play (RTP) criteria after hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) help clinicians in deciding whether an athlete is ready to safely resume previous sport activities. Today, functional and sport-specific training tests are the gold standard in the decision-making process. These criteria lead to an average RTP time between 11 and 25 days after a grade 1 or 2 HSI. However, the high re-injury rates indicate a possible inadequacy of the current RTP criteria. A possible explanation for this could be the neglect of biological healing time...

BACKGROUND: Perinatal growth abnormalities program susceptibility to childhood obesity, which is further exaggerated by maternal overweight and obesity (MO) during pregnancy. Exercise is highly accessible, but reports about the benefits of maternal exercise on fetal growth and childhood obesity outcomes are inconsistent, reducing the incentives for pregnant women to participate in exercise to improve children's perinatal growth. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to establish evidence-based efficacy of exercise in mothers with normal weight (MNW) and MO during pregnancy in reducing the risks of perinatal growth abnormalities and childhood obesity...

BACKGROUND: Sport-related head and neck injuries, including concussion, are a growing global public health concern with a need to explore injury risk reduction strategies such as neck exercises. OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the literature to investigate: (1) the relationship between neck strength and sport-related head and neck injuries (including sport-related concussion (SRC); and (2) whether neck exercise programs can reduce the incidence of (a) sport-related head and neck injuries; and (b) SRC...

A training plan, or an exercise prescription, is the point where we translate sport and exercise science into practice. As in medicine, good practice requires writing a training plan or prescribing an exercise programme based on the best current scientific evidence. A key issue, however, is that a training plan or exercise prescription is typically a mix of many interacting interventions (e.g. exercises and nutritional recommendations) that additionally change over time due to periodisation or tapering. Thus, it is virtually impossible to base a complex long-term training plan fully on scientific evidence...

BACKGROUND: The ergogenic effects of dietary supplements on endurance exercise performance are well-established; however, their efficacy in hot environmental conditions has not been systematically evaluated. OBJECTIVES: (1) To meta-analyse studies investigating the effects of selected dietary supplements on endurance performance and core temperature responses in the heat. Supplements were included if they were deemed to: (a) have a strong evidence base for 'directly' improving thermoneutral endurance performance, based on current position statements, or (b) have a proposed mechanism of action that related to modifiable factors associated with thermal balance...

BACKGROUND: There is growing concern surrounding the role of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts, such as football heading, on brain health. OBJECTIVES: Three questions were addressed while only considering studies that observed heading exposure directly: (1) how frequently does heading occur within football training and matches, (2) what are the biomechanical characteristics of heading, and (3) is cognitive function affected by heading? METHODS: This review followed the steps described in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines...